How the VW Polo elevated the humble hatchback

(Image: Twitter @volkswagenindia)

The Volkswagen Polo was in many ways, a landmark product. Not just for the brand but for the car market at large. It brought a level of performance, mechanical finesse, and dare I say, despite the ratings, a certain built quality that was unforeseen in the hatchback space until then.

Launched in 2010, the Polo arrived three years after VW made its debut in the Indian market. Its sister concern, Skoda India had already arrived long before cornering the premium sedan market completely, which left VW India to seek out other pastures. The premium hatchback space, which was, up till then, uncultivated and something of an oxymoron. With only the i20 as competition, it seemed ripe for the taking and VW brought in the Polo at a fairly aggressive price point of Rs 4.32 lakh (ex-showroom) with a 1.2-litre MPFI petrol motor (a 1.2-litre diesel model was launched simultaneously, for Rs 5.32 lakh).

By all accounts, the Polo shouldn’t have been the resounding success that it was. Yet, it marked the evolution of the Indian carbuyer  who was willing to forego the comparatively lesser cargo space and rear cabin space for its taut chassis and teutonic built quality. With the Polo’s launch, VW had hit a home run and held in its palm, the formula that was going to see the brand through the next decade.

The first-generation, 1.2-litre, 75hp Polo was no tarmac scorcher. But it was a sharp looking hatch that brought European design and quality to the hatchback segment. The Polo was stylish, trendy and brought the sort of provenance with it that the Indian small car market was unfamiliar with. It was also the first VW product to roll out of Chakan, allowing VW, a premium German brand to enter the affordable car market. An extremely utility conscious market was now opening up to the idea of style and performance, thereby marking the evolution of the carbuyer’s preferences.

Not surprisingly, the fifth-gen Polo that made its debut in the Indian market, proved to be a roaring success. VW had already planned to build on its platform as much as possible and so it was shortly followed by a sedan derivative to contend with the likes of the Honda City (which later brought in a hatchback derivate to tackle the Polo - the Jazz) called the Vento, a more rugged crossover version called the Polo Cross and a high-performance variant called dubbed the Polo GT. A few years later, VW would also attempt to crack the sub-four metre sedan market with another Polo derivative – the Ameo. However, unlike the rest which elevated the Polo from its hatchback confines, the Ameo failed to dominate the market as cheaper rivals gnawed away at the market share, and the Ameo couldn’t do much with its barebones powertrain and awkward proportions.

The original Polo GT came in both petrol and diesel guise, with the 1.2-litre turbo-petrol version giving customers a taste of VW’s trademark 7-speed DSG automatic gearbox. The 1.5-litre diesel packed quite a punch too, and both cars took the Polo out of the 100bhp club, with a healthy 105bhp of power. Not exactly hot hatch material by international standards, but for the Indian market, it was the first true taste of pint-sized performance. And the smooth, imperceptible upshifts on the DSG couldn’t be matched by cars that cost a lot more.

Then in 2016, Volkswagen India brought in the Polo GTI which, with 181bhp pouring out of a 1.8-litre TSI (the same engine found in the Audi A3) made it a proper pocket rocket.

Volkswagen India was the first brand to establish a dedicated motorsport subsidiary in VW India Motorsport. The brand single-handedly altered the country’s motorsport terrain on the back of the Polo. VW Motorsport India launched the Polo Cup in 2010 – the first brand-led one-make circuit racing series. It brought considerable legitimacy to India’s patchwork motorsports scene, with the winner of the championship getting to participate in the international Scirocco R Cup in Europe.

The Polo’s appeal wasn’t simply limited to the tarmac. Apart from several independent entries enrolling their rally-spec Polos for the official Indian National Rally Championship, VW Motorsport India too had a factory team with multiple iterations of rally-bred Polos chewing up all manner of terrain. Till date, the Polo remains a local rallying favourite.

In its downtime, the VW Motorsport India team tinkered with the Polo considerably, plonking a big 1.8-litre TSI from the GTI once as a special one-off project. At present, the resurgent Polo Cup’s official racing car packs plenty of cool tech. It’s much lighter, packs a 1.8-litre turbo-petrol which makes 230 bhp, a sequential gearbox, a boost function and a large spoiler. The Polo Cup car is proof of just how ahead of its time the Polo’s chassis design was. While the rest of the car grew to be increasingly outdated in terms of space, multimedia options and safety ratings, the Polo chassis made it one of the best project cars in the enthusiast community.

In its most recent avatar, the Polo downsized a bit, with VW putting a 1.0-litre TSI petrol in the same old shell. The 7-speed DSG was dropped in favour of a more economical 6-speed torque converter. The Polo still was spry as ever, but clearly past its peak. By now the competition had launched more contemporary looking products, and VW was more focussed on its India 2.0 initiative which didn’t seem to have room for the next-gen Polo sold internationally. Part of the reason was price. The current-gen Polo, when brought to India, would likely cross the price threshold that would make it a bestseller like the original. With the market leaning towards crossovers more, VW India will instead focus on the Taigun instead, and has no plans of bringing the new Polo to Indian shores.

Having announced that it will discontinue the Polo in the second quarter of this year, VW India launched one final tribute version for enthusiasts to snap up. Called the Polo “Legend Edition” it’s the current-gen Polo GT TSI carrying a few more visual flourishes than the standard car which include a black roof foil, racing stripes on the side skirts and a special boot badge.

Polo Legend.

The VW Polo is an international superstar, having sold over 44 million models worldwide in a production run that's nearly half a century long. Despite being an overly familiar sight in India, it continues to remain one of the most customised cars, with one of the best chassis’ in the business. Whether VW brings the international Polo to our shores or not, the Polo will continue to ply Indian roads, long after the last one has rolled off the assembly line.

VW India begins locally manufacturing the Polo with a petrol and diesel powertrain at its Chakan plant.

The VW Polo is launched at the 2010 New Delhi Auto Expo at Rs 4.32 lakh (ex-showroom). Later that year VW adds a more powerful 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated petrol motor to the line-up at a more premium Rs 6.16 lakh (ex-showroom).

The Polo GT arrives in both petrol and diesel guise, bringing an unprecedented level of power and performance to the segment.

VW Motorsport India debuts the R2-spec rally Polo at the 2014 INRC.

The India-made Polo receives an abysmal 0-star rating in Global NCAP test forcing VW to reconsider its safety specs and offer dual front airbags as standard across all variants. The Polo’s newly tested ratings came in, and with a four-star score it became one of the safest hatchbacks in the country. Years later, CCTV footage emerged of a man driving the car in Hyderabad and running it off a flyover, causing the Polo to take a nosedive towards the tarmac below. The driver escaped unhurt.

VW India ships in the Polo GTI as a CBU, launches it at a premium price of Rs 30.1 lakh.

The Polo gets a heart transplant in the form of a new 1.0-litre TSI engine. It was more efficient, packed new technology and made more power  (108 bhp) than the erstwhile 1.2-litre TSI Polo GT. Still one of the best driving hatches in the country, the Polo will be truly missed.

VW India announces that it will discontinue the Polo later in the year. Releases a farewell letter on behalf of the car.